Secret
by Arbarano
Summary: Retsuko has a secret to tell Haida. The best time to do this? When both are smashed out of their minds in a bar. Obviously.
1. Chapter 1

She'd only been yelled at once by Director Ton this week.

Retsuko sighed, marvelling in that fact as she eased further into her seat. Just the once. The office had been practically buried in a blizzard of paperwork from minute one on Monday morning, and it had taken all of her efforts to dig her way through the mounds of files and receipts and spreadsheets—_why they needed to be in physical copy?_—in time to reach the surface and see the last glimmers of daylight fade over the horizon, before it was time to drag her aching, weary bones home and scrape together nowhere near enough hours of sleep so she could be awake enough to do it all over again the following day. And again. And again. And _again_. Her mind dulled and numbed to the endless clacking of keys and the whirring of the copier, the huge pig barking instructions and lumbering across the office to carry them out personally, or else to remind her that it was her time to make the tea.

It was _always_ her time to make the tea.

But through it all, he had been... calm? No. Measured? Eh... Actually _on point_ with his remarks? Well, that was close enough. He'd still had to remind Kabae, and the rest of the floor by extension, not to waste toner printing personal items. Ookami-kun bowed to his wrath for daring to breeze into the room a whole ten seconds after nine on the second day, unable to squirm out of it by flashing his cute, easy, _oh I'm so sorry_ smile at Tsubone and explaining in that rich voice that she hoped made _everyone_ feel so gooey inside.

Not that he hadn't tried…

Komiya had still prowled the office and tisked when he spotted her printing spreadsheets landscape without amending the report headers, even though no one outside that room would see them. Tsubone had appeared over her shoulder and chided her for taking too many water breaks. And for taking too long to work through the marketing team's expenses for the previous four months, having given them to Retsuko five minutes before wafting out of the office herself the evening before. And for having too big a lunch for such a small woman.

Still, the boss had only yelled at her _once_. _Once_. For obviously not allowing his tea to brew for long enough.

Still, it was _just_ the once!

She drummed her fingers, wincing away from the stickiness.

Even if just the once, it still _happened_…

Anyway. She forced away her scowl and let her smile shine. Stickiness made tomorrow's problem by deft brush of paw against skirt, out of sight. Remain _positive_. That was all _done_ for the week and it was time for the weekend. Time to slip into a loose, downy tee shirt and meet up with her favourite two people in the whole world. Time for them to saunter through the city, chattering about everything and nothing important in the cooling evening air. Time for them to dive into their regular haunt, hide their bags under the table and cover its surface with their tipples, ready to wash all their cares away in a tidal wave of _booze_.

She had more than earned this beer, even if it somehow didn't feel necessary.

The chatter burbling around her sputtered for a few moments under her own gulps of the crisp, cool goodness. They sat buried in a next of tables and mismatched chairs. It wasn't packed, but only a few spots had yet to be occupied by the exhausted office workers in varying states of formal dress that made up the clientele. Including themselves. The lights dimmed but the outside world glowing orange in the late evening sun, peeking at them through narrow windows. Somewhere behind her in the murky din, a clatter and a cheer rang out as a fresh round was brought to a nearby table. A blurry soccer game kept blurrier minds occupied in the far corner, occasionally masking the voices around them under applause as someone scored for such-and-such.

"I still don't see why they had her torch her friend's house so she could collect the money." Haida leant back on his chair, lip curling uneasily. He let his beer rest against his chest as he pondered his next point, leaving a damp patch in his work shirt. "Seems like too big of an overreaction to be believable," he finished, holding an open paw over the table.

Fenneko sat across from him, uniform quickly discarded earlier for a sky-blue polo and loose shorts. Didn't stop her from radiating absolute control, wine dancing in a perfectly measured swirl. "They've been foreshadowing her dark side for the past four years." She did not even look up from her phone. She barely even slowed her typing. "And she's committed crimes to get her way before."

Retsuko pulled the bottle from her mouth, a smile settling into its place. She tilted her head back towards the hyena.

"Yeah…" Haida scratched his cheek, as though a decent argument was buried somewhere in the fluff. Retsuko gently chewed her lip, eyes darting back to her beer. "But not on this scale."

Fenneko sipped her wine. Retsuko could almost feel the glint bearing down on the poor hyena. "But financial stability has been her primary motivation as a character since the beginning. Do you think she would just back down after all this time?"

She bumped the bottle back onto the table, sighing, lips parting for a light chuckle. Her cheeks bloomed hot as the room swam around her, brain happily soaking into the soothing bath of a fourth beer that hour. She leaned back into her seat, wood creaking awkwardly against her shirt.

Loudly, too. Breath caught in her throat as she fought to keep her coat from bristling. Wide eyes glanced right.

Haida now sat up straighter, an easy smile around his snaggleteeth. "Okay, but don't get me started on how dumb they had to make her boyfriend for it to work," he said, flourishing a paw in what seemed to be emphasis but looked more like swatting a bug. Dozy eyes landed on her and perked in a heartbeat. Her cheeks prickled. She should smile back… hopefully it looked more warm and encouraging and not _constipated_.

She glanced left, feeling the steam gushing from her ears.

Fenneko swirled her glass, wine sloshing around the rim but not a drop spilling, phone still glowing in her other paw. "On that, we agree."

Another sigh, warmth settling in her chest. Dignity preserved.

Why wouldn't she have earned this, though? She was just sitting in a bar with her two best friends. Nothing too fancy or extravagant to feel her wallet pinching over. Sure, she had been a little quiet this evening, but they were big fans of a show that had wrapped up earlier that week and she… wasn't. It didn't seem bad, from what she'd heard. At least until the last season, anyway. She'd just missed the boat when it first came out. Something to do with families fighting over a house after a messy divorce? She couldn't be sure. Looked nice enough, though. Maybe she should add it to her list for when she finished HenCIS? Either way, it was nice to just listen to the two of them talk as she soaked in the beers.

She smiled. It had been as _long_ a week as any other in the office. Longer than many, perhaps. At least three of the accounts she had needed to process this afternoon used to be Tsunoda's responsibility, hadn't they? She had definitely heard the doe pouting over having to go over the ledgers for a fish exporter last week, as if the files themselves would reek of the factory, and then _poof_, a company matching that description with a name that seemed very familiar landed on her desk this morning.

Then again, this was Japan. There must have been thousands of companies handling fish.

Then again, _again_, Tsunoda had spent most of Wednesday leaning over Komiya's desk and batting her eyes at him from across the office. Then yesterday, she had gushed over him for a whole hour as he putted across the office, and he had _melted_ when she ran her hooves up and down his arms, cooing about what a big, strong man he was and how _super_ lucky they were to have someone like him looking after their office…

Yeah, maybe that had something to do with it…

A quiet chuckle shuffled out of her nose. It didn't exactly take _Fenneko's_ deduction to figure that one out! Her eyes wandered back across the table to where her friend had perched herself what felt like hours ago, phone in hand and smirk on lips. Those were still present, though her tail stood at attention behind her, still but for the occasional dangerous flicker. Dark, beady eyes shimmered under the dim light from her screen, her smirk deepening while her fingers disappeared into a blur.

Retsuko twitched her shoulders, a faint chill oozing down her spine. She blinked, looking down at the table, ears wilting. She would be amazed if Fenneko hadn't recorded the whole thing on her phone. Sure, her eyes had been trained on her work for most of the day, and she'd found the time to share a video of Haida's… _attempt_ at dancing the previous weekend, but she knew better. Her phone would have been squirrelled away somewhere on her desk, hidden yet perfectly angled to video every squeal, simper, fawn, and _stroke_. Heck, she was probably scouring the pair's feeds and pages for every little morsel of their relationship _right now_, ready to be saved up and thrown back at the pair when they least needed it...

She blinked, eyes dry and beer hazy on the table. She loved Fenneko. Honest! She was great fun and she'd steered Retsuko right _far_ more often than not. They always had each other's back, but… was it bad to feel happy you were friends with someone because then they wouldn't hurt _you_?

She glanced at Haida as she upended her bottle again. There was the answer. _They_ were friends and, whether for what he had just said or for how much of a spindly, greasy-faced, awkward _dork_ he used to be, Fenneko went after him _mercilessly_. Gently, by the limits of whatever dark forces they all knew dwelled in the fox's mind, but mercilessly. Ruthlessly.

Hilariously.

Retsuko couldn't stop her eyes from drifting downwards, face slowly boiling. Nor could she stop her grin from spreading.

She couldn't help it. It was all in good fun and neither of them meant any harm in it, and Haida always gave as good as he got. Well, he tried to at least. Between the way he adorably gangled his arms to emphasise how wrong Fenneko was and the little cracks when his voice reached fever pitch, he couldn't quite match the fox's chill game and icy glare. But he took the bait all the same; maybe he liked it after all…?

She hummed internally, another glug washing away her smile. A scruffy, blushy face swam in her mind's eye, its own wide and panicking and tears brewing in their corners. Her shirt was suddenly clammy against her fur, cloying as the swirly feeling grew cold in her chest. Maybe she should try to tone it down a bit...

His own bottle sat empty on the table before him, his snout faintly darkening with a heady rose as he rolled his eyes. He was leaning forward in his chair again, now, bony elbow dangerously close to smearing his work shirt in another sticky patch on the table.

"Even without all _that_," he groused, paw flicking up and carrying his arm away from doom, "surely he'd at least suspect something when something happens that only one person would benefit from. Wasn't he supposed to be a trial lawyer? A good one?"

"Exactly." Another dainty sip, signed off with a meaningful clack of claw against screen. "You could make the argument, and I've seen this said many times online, that he did know and was just too desperate to bone her to actually turn her in."

"No way." He shook his head, and reached out for his bottle, only for his grin to falter once it came away from the table so lightly. He huffed.

Retsuko quirked, smirk teasing. Did he just _whine_? An actual, high-pitched whine like a _puppy_? She picked at her fingers, flames licking her cheeks.

"Yes. The same character whose entire conflict revolved around him reluctantly, but determinedly, informing on the malfeasance at his father's company."

"Pff…" Haida slumped, catching his chin with an arm propped up on the table. "It's like they didn't even re-watch their own show."

"Hmm…" Fenneko pursed her lips. "Then again, that rebuttal would imply he wants to jump daddy's bones."

Haida's laugh exploded into her ears. His shoulders hitched, crushing his collar and winching his arms over the table, paw still holding the invisible bottle. He screwed his eyes shut and tipped his head back, belting louder than a traffic jam. People at the table behind him whirled around in their seats, just barely stopping themselves from carrying on and sprawling to the floor, while a cat at the table next door slammed her fists in her ears.

Retsuko scowled. It wasn't _that_ loud, surely? And even if it was, it was who were they to judge? They were three friends having fun in a place where you were allowed to have fun? Besides… it was just _nice_ to hear him so happy again. To hear him just let go…

Another blast cut through the chatter, ringing painfully in her ears. She tilted away from him, guilt curdling the warmth in her tummy. She glanced at the hyena through narrowing eyes. Maybe it was a _little_ loud? A little attention grabbing?

The muffled roar around them lulled into a whispered fever, punctured brutally by yelping cackles.

So many eyes bore into them from around the bar. So many eyes to stare and pry and _judge_ the empty drinks on the table and the rumples in their clothes. So many to see the cowlicks around their ears and the dark, damp patches under her arms and the soft pooch spilling over her waistband and the sweat on his brow and his lips, and to scoff at the _children_ who couldn't handle themselves.

And then it stopped. Haida froze and her heart plunged through the floor. _Oh no_. No, it _was_ good for him to laugh. She wasn't criticising… okay, she was, but she didn't _mean it_. It was perfectly fine and kind of cute and _please be happy again!_

A few nervy squeals that might have been laughs spilled from his grin, fixed in place while his eyes flickered around the room. That was a start, at least…?

Haida deflated, chest falling and his shoulders sinking down to drag his head back to his usual slouch. Blush deepened in his cheeks as his smile shrank into a sheepish grin. Quieter, softer chuckles took their turn, eyes darting between herself and Fenneko. "H-hell of a corner they wrote themselves into, there."

Fenneko smirked, eyes trained on his own. She drained her glass with a sharp slurp and held it out to him. "Indeed."

Fewer eyes were on them, their owners having turned back to their conversations or grumbling about the goal they had just missed. Retsuko had barely taken another swig before the murmured chorus filled the air around them once more.

Haida eased, his shoulders loosening and grin softening. He poured out a large measure of red for their friend in silent apology. "Kind of surprised you didn't make a joke about _me_ knowing all about that kind of desperation." Oh, Haida.

She raised the glass and an eyebrow alongside it. "I don't need to when you'll do it for me." Retsuko took another sip, stifling the laugh that was brewing in her chest and the twinge that felt guiltier than it should have.

Because it was just _nice_ to all be out together. It felt like forever since they all just pootled down to the dive nearest the office, still caked in the stale air of their own work clothes and heads filled with figures, and just drank the week's issues away.

Teeth nibbled at lips. Another swig of beer did its best to soothe. It hadn't been long, though. They'd all been together at Fenneko's to trawl through the back catalogue that streaming had to offer and snark through some trash. At least, that was where it ended up after the fennec uncorked all her wine at the beginning of the evening. Plus they had been to several mixers since their belated office Christmas party last January and shared a table for all of them, with plenty of barbed words and honking laughs between them. She had even convinced the pair of them to join her for a picnic during a brief heatwave back in May.

Worst idea of the year. Of _any_ year. So many screaming kids and _insects_. Something must have been waiting to unleash a plague on that park; she'd barely even popped open the first tupperware pot before the sun disappeared behind the swarm. At least Fenneko had enjoyed herself, perched atop a nearby stump, tittering into her phone. And Haida…

She looked over to the hyena, his eyes alight and his cheeks ruddy as he explained the finer points of the trainwreck he and Fenneko had evidently followed, backed up with gestures. Or faintly adorable flailings that made her paws ball up and her tummy fizz, at any rate.

He had rushed to her side, batting away the bugs and helping her to pack all the tubs into the cooler bag, before bundling all the crockery into the blanket and hoisting it onto his back as they left the part. He had walked by her side the whole ways as they trudged to the subway, reminding her that they could just eat at one of their places and it would still be great because it was her cooking. He had even had the grace to not point out how hard her fur bristled when he'd said that.

He'd been so kind to her that day.

So what if it turned out that three of the plates had smashed on the way? He'd looked so _guilty_.

Her brows furrowed. No, she'd grumbled at the broken china and _made_ him feel so guilty.

She gulped more beer and felt it gurgle against the tension.

She had _had_ to let him down eighteen months ago. It was for the best. It had to be. He was in hospital after getting lost in the rain; she'd just wasted… yes, _wasted_ her time on that other panda. She needed time and space to sort her own mind out, to buckle down and focus on what actually mattered to her and how to actually make things better. To stop focussing on some silly, childish dreams and deal with the real consequences of her actions. He needed… well, he needed a woman with her head in a better place than hers, for a start!

Fenneko maybe? He did seem in tune with her particular love language, after all.

Heck, maybe he'd only asked her then because he felt sorry for her.

She blinked. Yes, that _was_ a selfish thought. Wasn't she supposed to know better than that? But he… he _really_ was nice like that.

Then again, he did imply that he'd had a crush on her for a while. She had _tried_ to let him down gently. It really was for the best. He needed time to recover and she needed some time for herself. She'd known things would be awkward between them for a little while, but surely he'd have moved on soon enough? Found someone _better_.

Better than some silly, selfish little butterball who dreamed of marrying a living wallet, didn't know just how committed she was about commitment, and couldn't even tell her two most favourite, wonderful, best-in-the-whole-world friends about her hobbies? She snorted. Difficult, that one.

The bottle was in her hand again. Numb, damp fingers clutched at it, like a baby clamped to its security blanket. Because that's what she was. Maybe Tsunoda had been right all along… Maybe her mother was right too…

How could she want kids of her own when she was like _this…_?

She took another swig. Deep breaths chased away the heat in her face and the pressure behind her eyes.

Maybe awkward wasn't the right word. More like quiet. Work kept them both busy for most of that autumn, and then there was her messy flirtation with instafame—a good reminder that Fenneko was a _strong_ judge of character—but it seemed like he was avoiding her for a long time. Any time he did speak to her he always sounded so nervous, as if he had to fight to get every word out. Surely… he hadn't been hurt that badly, right? He just couldn't be! He'd put up with the office for just as long as she had. He was so tall. He had to be made of strong stuff! Besides, it was just an office crush and she was just some plain, pudgy little miss, pushing dangerously into her late twenties. A guy as cute as him _would_ find someone.

He always seemed to sit up straighter whenever that chirpy wagtail from marketing popped into their office…

Then again, she of all people should have known what a little office crush could feel like… how strongly it could take hold and rule your life... how badly it could _hurt_…

Another gulp drained her bottle. An air pocket burned in her chest for a moment before she damped the fires with her paw. And another deep breath.

Still, it was nice that they'd had that talk last Christmas Eve and agreed to hang out more often again. And it was good that they actually _did_ start to hang out more; what little rust had crept into their conversations was easily washed away with a couple of beers on the first time of asking, never to return. Things got so much freer and easier; not just in the flow of jokes and words, but he even stood up straighter.

And then, when she found love again, for what felt so real this time, he _stayed_ close to her. Not that she'd made it easy for him, between skipping merrily out on work and living in that backseat blanket for days on end, but he had tried to keep up with her. He had texted her when she first missed work and sent smilies when she told him where she was. He'd been happy for her. And he'd been there for her when she needed friends at the end of it, right by her side on the way to the karaoke den, and then listening to her when she tried to soothe her aching chest with beer for the next three nights.

He'd been there the whole time. Her friend.

She smiled. Whatever invisible spring that the two had been caught in had slowly unwound and they were just… comfortable.

"Retsuko?"

Yes, comfortable. All three of them were, again. They could grab drinks at the bar together, they could go walkabout through the city in the middle of the night, they could hang out at each other's places, they could kill a whole weekend together binging a classic series, they could even go dancing… if that was more their thing, but they could do it! They were happy and comfortable and _smiling_ together again. And it always felt good to see Haida smiling…

"You okay, Retsuko?"

And the way his eyes somehow managed to bug out adorably while still being so soft and warm, like a hug all on their own? That was pretty cute too. And his one little eyebrow, rising nervously to get away from impending peril. And the way his mouth hung open, a little dumbly but more worried… maybe Fenneko had been threatening to show off those pictures of him dancing on the table again?

Either way, _so cute!_

"You're staring."

Pop.

"Huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

Two pairs of eyes stared right back at Retsuko and chased all the heat from her face, her own unable to look at either for too long. Each drizzling greasy chills down her spine. One pair dim but focussed, wide blotches of ink doodled harmlessly into otherwise crisp notes, peering around a muzzle cocked for maximum adorability. The other silent, motionless and intense, staring right through her walls and noting down all of her deepest secrets, darker than their own infinite depths, all from atop a tiny, tiny smirk.

The bottle slithered down in her fingers and she clutched at it.

"You were staring," Fenneko repeated, pausing for another sip of red. The phone still glowed menacingly in her hand, petite muzzle cast in stark glare and shadow. A tremble ran through Retsuko's smile and she willed it steady. "Zoned right out of the conversation and focussed intently on the table." A brow rose, taking a corner of her smirk with it. "Or something on the table, maybe."

"Oh, sorry…" she whispered, breath bursting from a dam she didn't realise was in her chest. Her lips fell together into a wide smile and she made it look easy, eyes falling closed. "Guess I just spaced out for a little while, huh?" She brought a paw to her neck, chasing away the sudden itch in her fur.

"Yeah, it's been a long week, Fenneko," Haida murmured, dragging her eyes to him. He raised his bottle and sucked away the final dregs, pulling it clear again with a loud, wet squeak that rattled her tummy. "And you know the hours we pull, Retsuko especially." He shrugged, shoulders hitching out of kilter. That relaxed smile settled around his snaggleteeth and the itch rose to her cheeks. "Kind of surprised we're all still awake."

Retsuko smiled, breaths calmer and smoother. She reached out and replaced her beer, savouring the crisp chill against her sweaty paws. Maybe neither of them had seen how long she looked at him...

"True." Fenneko's gaze had snapped back to her phone, screen perfectly still despite her thumb breaking the sound barrier across it. "And I guess we are all several drinks deep."

A long, far less smooth breath juddered out of her nose as she plopped back into her seat, shirt loosening around her shoulders as they eased back down. This was okay. It was. She hadn't been spotted and her bestest-best friend wasn't carving out a framed snapshot in internet infamy for her just for _looking_ at his blushy, so fluffy-it-hurts-_not_-to-ruffle-them cheeks. But she'd ended up soaking so deeply into the beers that she'd ended up going under and resurfacing after who knew how many topics had been chewed through. Were they still talking about that family feud show?

She really should pay more attention. Her eyes flicked to the hyena, his muzzle tipped up on his thumb as he scratched his chin, lips twisted and pursing as though trying to wrestle a thought out. Her ears sagged, brows following suit. Hadn't she said she wanted to get to know her friends more?

She screwed her eyes shut, chest tight and suddenly heaving. She was doing that. She _was_. She blinked, eyes cooling and paws loosening. _Positive_. She put the bottle to her lips, nerves unwinding with every swallow.

Hadn't that whole show ended with some random cousin getting the deeds? Yes, she was sure of it; for nearly a week, the internet had been plastered in shots of that weedy lion, with his straggly mane and his chest puffed so hard it looked like his ribs were going to explode. She _did_ know something about it! Maybe she could—

"But you looked like you were thinking hard, all the same."

Or not.

Retsuko blinked, the room a grainy haze of colours as the grit cleared from her eyes. She looked across to Fenneko. "Oh…" She'd had her phone out the whole time. The bottom fell out from her stomach, eyes nearly following it out of hear head. Her paws jangled. How had she forgotten that?! "It was nothing, really!"

A spark. A tiny, glittery, pretty little spark shone back at her, a lone star twinkling in an inky night. It danced across Retsuko's nerves and jolted its merry way through every fibre of her twitchy little body, no doubt cackling the whole way. She shivered in her seat yet she boiled behind her eyes, shirt clinging to her clammy back, cheeks blooming with what she hoped was sweat.

"It didn't look like nothing." The chatter around them seemed to fade around them, lost in the murky nothing that sucked away all the lights and sights around them. Still Fenneko stared right through her.

It was nothing. All she'd done was think he was kind of cute! That wasn't weird, was it? Friends could think their friends were cute, right? She had lots of cute friends! She'd lost count of the number of times she'd found Puko napping, curled up in little pink donut with her tail over her nose. Super cute! And Ookami had that adorable voice that turned her insides to hot chocolate. Gori was a big bundle of noise and energy and she was _adorable_ when she was nervous. And Washimi… she was too poised, too refined, too elegant to be cute. And then she fell asleep on Gori's shoulder, face red and bright as a stoplight, still mumbling the words of Donna Blitzen… back together.

Retsuko sniffed thickly, sneaking a sip of beer. Not now, brain… it was _so good_, but not right now...

Cute. _Cute_. Heck, _Fenneko_ was kind of cute, with her huge ears and that bushy tail and the big, sappy heart that she just _knew_ was in there somewhere. Yeah. Fenneko _always_ had her back, afterall...

"Or sound like it." Her eyes snapped to the fennec. She gulped; wherever it was, it was buried too deep!

The table was gone, vanished into the ether along with the waft of stale sweat and hoppy belches. A deafening muffle stuffed her ears like cotton even as they splayed flat against her head, eyes blinking away the searing warmth. Still Fenneko stared right through her.

No… she could get through! "Honestly, I just spaced out." A laugh shook out of her, crumbling her smile.

"No one thinks that hard over nothing. Not even Haida."

Somewhere behind her, he probably let out a yelp and a blistering, squeaky defence of himself. Probably. Complete with his arms swinging and his face scrunching up, maybe even stomping his feet to try and puncture the deafening wall. But he wouldn't.

But it was still cute even in her own head.

Fenneko loomed before her eyes, still in her seat but somehow filling the world with the vastness of her impassive stare. "Is there something you're not telling us, Retsuko?"

Scratch waiting until Haida started tearing up again; she _definitely_ needed to get Fenneko to tone this down. Right now!

All she'd done was think he was cute! And he just _was_! He'd _always_ been kind of cute. Granted, he hadn't made it easy for himself, with the way he tried to square his sloping shoulders and breathe deeply to try and stop himself from squeaking. It didn't stop him from bouncing through the ceiling whenever Komiya so much as looked at him. And it didn't stop her from giggling along with Fenneko when he crashed back down and bowed an even bigger hole in the floor. But there was still _something_ adorable in there, when the artifice fell away and left the gel dripping from his ears and the teeth somehow gangling out of his mouth. And those wide, earnest eyes _begging_ for a way out. A little pathetic, yes, but... still kind of adorable. In a weird way...

Jumping at _Komiya_… She tried to wash the cringe away with golden goodness. It failed and merely gurgled in her middle. Scratch that: _more_ than a little pathetic.

Besides, she wasn't even the worst offender. She'd lost count of the times she heard all the senior ladies _cooing_ over him in the break room during those first months, before he grew out of his zits and let his ruff fill in all natural and scruffy. She'd had to sit all smiles and sunshine on the outside but scowling within as they mooed, tittering and gawking at him like he was some exhibit, while he pecked at his laptop, fingers frantically jabbing away, voice cracking and tears welling because setup had failed _again_.

"I-i-it's nothing."

Those gossipy hens didn't even have the decency to be quiet as they gushed about how they wanted to take him home and eat him up and _keep him_. Well... maybe it was more that they wanted to mother him than anything else. But still! And it wasn't like they'd all given up! Heck, Kabae and Bibanuma had nearly torn him in half during the mixer just last month, pulling his scrawny, drunken ass every which way in the hope he would plonk it next to them for the rest of the evening. And he'd just taken it, with his wonky smile and his mewling little gibbers and the paws squeezing thin air whenever their own jerked him back across the room shoulder-first.

"You're sure of that?"

So why was it a big deal now?!

"Mhm!" She fixed her smile, small and strong, nodding. "Definitely!" Or maybe they were just massive trembles.

She'd just spelled 'it' with three 'i's. She knew… it was too late. Her coat was dripping, smile barely holding back the whine in her heart. This was it. She'd seen that look before, that glint that could buckle steel, paw poised to zap a future away with a flourish. Right before a certain hyena would start babbling incoherently and dive under his own paws as if that would make the world go away, or some smarmy suit suddenly found their professional feed spammed with every thigh-pic they had left their gross brain burbles on in the comments.

No… she should wait. Calm down and breathe _deeply_. Take a nice, deep drag of her drink and wallow in the suds. This was okay… she could _trust_ Fenneko. She could just keep it to herself… unless she'd already told Kabae?!

Her life was over!

"Fair enough."

She blinked, eyes no longer consumed with dry tan and endless night. Fenneko perched effortlessly on her seat, twirling a mouthful of red around her glass and phone dormant. Her eyes sat soft and placid beneath still brows, her face blank and lips flat.

"Hey!"

They were in the bar again, ears again filled with the steady roar of chatter, clattering glasses, and slurred shouts. The outside world still aglow but stained a deeper, darker orange as the sun gave its last for the day. Even so, heat was building around the room, with all the warm bodies jostling for room near the bar and the ovens blazing somewhere out of sight. Rich wafts of salt and grease slathered her nostrils as another tray of goodies landed at a nearby table, the air thick and clammy as she gulped it down, shirt chilly against her back. A pack of canines behind her whooped loudly at each other, eyes trained on the screen in the far distance.

Haida stared at the fennec, shoulders slack but deep furrows across his brow, his eyes gleaming. He opened a paw over the table with a huff. "What's the big deal, Fenneko?"

"Nothing," Fenneko said, eyes already back on her phone, thumb jabbing pointedly at the screen. "Just wanted to confirm that."

Haida snorted, arms folding loosely across his rumpled shirt. His lips tweaked into a little smile. "Well, did you have to give Retsuko both barrels, then?" He kept his eyes on their friend and missed the bristle in her cheeks.

She chewed her lip. She didn't _need_ him looking out for her. He definitely didn't need to be looking out for _her_… but she couldn't say that it didn't feel _nice_.

A rustle twitched her ears and she jerked her head after it. Fenneko had _sighed_.

"Perhaps not." Her thumb paused on her phone, the cold glow perfectly capturing the moment her ears sagged. Fenneko placed it on the table and reached for the last unopened bottle, eyes on Retsuko as she plucked it from its condensation ring. She quirked a brow, smile soft.

Retsuko returned it, warmth flooding her cheeks again. She did care, really. A little too much sometimes, but she did. Retsuko hoisted the bottle up from her lap, sloshing the several swigs left within it. "It's fine, really." She glanced across at the hyena, leaning forward with his eyes on her own. "I-we deal with way worse at work every day."

She let her lids close, smiling despite the abyss of inky blackness, endless monotone giggles ringing in her ears.

"Honestly," she muttered, room swirling for a moment before a gangly arm appeared across her vision, paw closing around the bottle. "I _did_ space out on you guys. I'm sorry…" Beer washed away the aches gathering in her chest.

"Ah, don't worry about it," said Haida, cocking his head, kind smile applying further balm to her undeserving ego. "Like I said: you've had a rough week." He snorted, flicking his wrist and plinking the cap off the bottle. "Happens to the best of us."

"And to you."

Haida levelled his glare at Fenneko, eyes blazing with the intensity of a bell pepper. The fennec smirked sweetly, raising her glass.

Chortles burst from her nose and she pressed her lips to her own bottle. If he was going to keep serving so gently, what did he expect to happen?

"Still, it didn't hurt to check," Fenneko continued, phone slotting back into her paw, as the hyena tipped his muzzle back, glugging the lukewarm nectar. She smirked. "Not all of us stare at inanimate objects like we intend to propose to our morning coffee."

Haida let out a snort that ripped through the air, a chainsaw through her ears, his cheeks glowing as they bulged. His neck disappeared again as his head sank into his shoulders, eyes vanishing behind crumpled lids. He ripped the bottle from his lips, other paw blurring to replace it with a sickly grunt. Deep breaths rustled through his fur as he squeezed his palm into his muzzle, holding back the flood she could hear squelching through his teeth.

His other arm kept dangling over the table, bottle born aloft, a trophy to the fennec's machnications. She just sat back, phone propped up before her own beaming smirk, tapping the one button that would haunt him for the next week. Audibly. His ears twitched with every exaggerated shutter clasp.

Had she turned her speakers up?

Retusko's grin crumbled, chewing her cheek as her tummy spasmed. Okay… this was _fun_, but maybe just a bit mean…

"Fen—"

But it was lost under the spectacle of Haida craning his neck and, with what he made look like enough force to move a mountain, squeezing the whole mass of beer down his throat, muscles _cracking_ with the effort. His eyes shot open, tongue bursting out of his mouth. More snaps. He gulped down air, chest heaving and bobbing his whole body as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"Hey!" he squeaked before mashing his fist back against his muzzle, coughs hacking at his chest. Loud, wet coughs.

She glanced around the room. A few ears flicked irritably at them, but no one had turned to judge them this time. All around, the dull roar of conversation held steady, muffling the poor hyena struggling for breath in their midst.

She frowned. Yes. Nobody was staring at her blotchy cheeks or her sweaty pits or her clammy muffin-top. _That_ was the important part. Not her best friend nearly drowning because of her other best friend, no sir! Her ego was intact and that mattered.

The sigh burst from her nose and she couldn't care to stop it. She was doing it _again_.

Another hack crashed into her ears and she looked to her right. He still hunched, propped up on his knees, grunting into his fist, tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes. Still trying to shift the liquid searing every time he drew breath, whines growing louder. Still _hurting_.

Still twitching from more snaps.

"Maybe that's enough, Fenneko," she said, her tone light and airy. She smothered her frown with a smile she hoped was soft and kind. It had to be. She blinked to brighten her eyes. "Are you all right, Haida-_kun_?" His eyes popped open the moment her paw reached his knee.

Smile growing, heat rising in her cheeks, she rubbed softly, fingers almost melting to jelly over his pants because she could almost feel his thick fur and—this was his knee, how was his _bony, jagged knee_ so _fluffy_—

He stared at her, eyes wide but welling with gooey warmth. Pulling his paw away revealed the soft smile blooming back around his fangs, breathing smooth and easy once more. He cleared his throat and she nearly jumped from the shock through her paw.

"I-I'll be okay…" he wheezed, smile parting to let out a few light noises that might have been chuckles. He glanced down at her paw and the pitch shifted even higher, shoulder rising along with it as he scritched his ruddy cheek. "Um… thanks."

"Oh…" She pulled her paw away, suddenly roasting and wanting to tug at her shirt. "No problem."

Monotonous chuckles filled her ears and her cheeks blazed. Fenneko tittered from behind her phone, ears perfectly erect and eyes alive with innumerable, evil glints, satisfied smirk flashing in and out of sight as she bobbed in her seat. Well at least someone enjoyed it.

"It's not funny, Fenneko," she chided, cursing the grin tweaking her lips.

"_You_ sound convinced," Fenneko replied, not pausing to breathe. Or caring to take down her grin. Or wrong.

Little bursts of laughter spurted out her nose. She would laugh again at the pictures come Monday morning and her chest would only twinge a little when Haida smooshed his sad little frown into his desk, whining about how they were the worst.

Was it bad that she couldn't help laughing at him being so dramatic?

"Sorry, Haida," she wheedled, cheeks roasting. His eyes perked for a second before they rolled, curling her smile with them.

"But I can't decide whether it was funnier than the look on Haida's face when that intern comes around in the morning."

No. It wasn't bad. It wasn't bad that she couldn't stop herself smiling at the way his muzzle would follow the tray of mugs around the room like a caffeine-seeking missile, or at the great, wet lungfuls he would sniff as the intern bearing it grew closer. It wasn't bad that she had to hold back the giggles once the mug touched down on his desk at the hyena would stare at it for what seemed like years, eyes shimmering and reverent, mouth stretching into a glorious, sunny smile that could power the world. It wasn't bad that the swirly feeling would brew in her tummy as she watched him close his paws around the cup and hoist it so tenderly, so carefully, and looked upon it with a fond glow that most men reserved for their children.

She snickered, the ashes long cleared from her head and her smile bright. Deservedly so.

Haida thrust out his bottom lip. "What?" he groused, taking a swig of his beer, rouge inching closer to his eyes. "You make just as much fuss over the break room fruit!"

"Maybe." Fenneko drained her glass. "But I don't stalk the delivery guy on the way in." It clacked against the table with purpose, her smirk equally solid.

Haida snorted. "No. You just stalk your friends through your phone, instead."

Retsuko had to hold her mouth closed, eyes popping wide to stare at the hyena. Embers flickered in his eyes, a grin of his own daring to show itself. Part of her wanted to high-five him.

Fenneko placed her class on the table, her tail swishing. A few blinks passed as the glint radiated from her very being.

"Or maybe it's not so much the coffee as the intern bringing it."

Retsuko straightened in the seat, twitching against a sudden chill. Her shirt was starting to feel loose around her and it was slowly evaporating dry.

They shared the tenth floor with the company's in-house travel administrators and there was only the one break room between them. It probably made sense to have them so close by, so they could compare records for all their booking costs and invoices. And since they took in kids from the universities part-time, it gave her a bit of a break from tea duties for the brief time there was someone _lower_ in Ton's estimations around.

"Uh…" Haida affirmed, blinking dumbly at Fenneko.

Retsuko frowned. The petite degu they had brought in this year seemed like such a sweet girl, with her bright eyes and that demure, perfectly straight smile. And that tinkly laugh that should have been sickly but instead rang with a crisp, clear trill. She didn't deserve Ton brushing her aside when she followed his endless barking instructions, gulping the whole cup away with a huff. Her lips pursed, brows lowering and face burning. At least she always perked up whenever she reached Haida…

"Yeah!" His eyes snapped to her, pupils vanishing into stark hazel. A naughty trill tickled her and she giggled. "What? You've never noticed how much she lights up when she gets to your workstation?" She _had_ noticed how he always sounded so comfortable talking to that degu. That was a good thing! His voice didn't even hitch when he thanked her. He would look right at her with his ears lowering gently and his eyes warm, even inviting.

The complete opposite of now, with panicky eyes flickering between her and Fenneko, jaw trembling, ears roving around for an escape route. "N-no…" His fangs hooked around his top lip.

She took a sip of beer and hummed as it cooled her chest, eyes clouding over. From the booze, she was sure. "I bet she wishes you looked at _her_ like you look at the coffee, Haida!" Her cheeks were bunching so hard they were almost sore.

She would be good for him. They would be adorable together and she looked so much like him! Maybe her arms were a little stubby and her paws only barely peeked out of her sleeves, but she was such a skinny little thing. It would complement him! And she must take such good care of her fur, with the way it danced and weaved under the cold fluorescent lights, but she made it look so effortless. No hint of red peeking around her mouth and no tint around her eyes, just the soft swathes of chocolate-brown _fluff_. And the rainbows and flowers beaming from her eyes whenever she looked at _Haida-senpai_.

Her stomach cringed. Please tell her _she'd_ never sounded like that.

A squeaky groan that left its own skidmark on the air pulled her eyes back to the hyena, blinking away the heady dim. "You two!" He raised his paw, finger jabbing with all the force and danger of drizzle at the fennec. But he flicked it up, whatever point behind the fire in his glare tumbling into the murky waters of his fifth beer. He topped the tank with a grouse, snorting as he yanked the bottle away. "She's still in college."

Fenneko was still but for a single eyebrow, slowly rising above her lopsided smirk.

Head twitching, cheeks scarlet. Another groan rent the air. "Isn't she some higher-up's daughter?"

"And that's the only thing stopping you?" Fenneko took a loud, deliberate slurp, smirk leaving its own raw slap against his cheek. "Cradle-snatcher."

Sure, she was _maybe _a little young for him, but that wasn't as big a deal for guys, right? Hadn't Shirota been eight years older than her? What was _seven_ years, then? It would be good for him to feel so confident around a gi—woman. _Woman_. She was sweet and she seemed kind and she buzzed around the office with the fresh zest for life that hadn't been beaten out of her yet. And she laughed at his jokes and not at _him_ whenever Fenneko made him flail like a car dealership's balloon.

Haida huffed. His arms crumpled into a loose knot, bottom lip shoved forward. "Where do you even get these ideas from?" He swallowed thin air, blush darkening as the beer flooded his system and rubbing a claw along his chest. "She brings _everyone_ drinks in the morning."

"But she only speaks to you, Haida-_senpai_," Fenneko finished, voice sweet and syrupy and somehow the most unsettling thing she'd said all night. Retsuko stared. Since when could Fenneko sound so… _twee_?

Retsuko gulped down the sweetness until all that was left was air squeezing wetly around her tongue. Her shoulders sagged gently, heavy sigh pouring out her nose, lips still curled softly. Okay, maybe that little tease didn't have any weight behind it, but _still_! Maybe that pretty wagtail would drop by on Monday? Yeah... he would be happy with someone like that…

And maybe her chest would stop feeling so _sore_.

The bottle was on her lips before she knew it. Another sigh burst out. She looked over to him.

"You're reading way too much into this," he groused, arm gangling over the table and nearly felling the forest of glass.

"That's still not a no."

He would have moved on, right…? She blinked, heat building in her ears. He was so _sweet_. It wasn't right for him to get hung up on some dumpy little panda.

She snorted. Add arrogant to oblivious, why didn't she? Like she was a catch… She didn't know which was sadder in that scenario.

Two dark horns menaced from the shadows in her head. She clutched the bottle tightly, lines carving trenches in her forehead. On the subject of sad and things that poor degu didn't deserve to put up with… She shivered, room blurring as her throat burned. "Wouldn't get your hopes up—"

"Nonexistent hopes!" His yelp cut through her ears and she had to turn away again. Her cheeks boiled as she looked back to Haida. Weak chuckles burbled out his crooked grin. "But, uh…" He drummed the table while he drained his beer. "Um… you were saying?"

"I was talking with her in the break room yesterday and…" That little brown face swam hazily in her mind's eye, voice holding steady and sweet and _inane_, but the demure smile slowly giving way to trembling lips, the eyes flicking to the door whenever footsteps echoed outside. "Well…" The cheeks loosening when those horns didn't appear. She sniffed, stomach roiling from the ghost of his cologne and his _desperation_. "It seems like Yagyuu's already swooped…" No. _No._ That would imply subtlety. Finesse. She blinked, head too warm and fluffy… "Um…" Her brain shrugged from the balmy depths of its golden hot-tub and she screwed her eyes shut. The pressure made it belch _something_ out. "Stampeded for her!"

Yes. That suited a fifty-something buffalo with testicles where his eyes should be _humming _when she leant over to put his coffee down. And then followed her out the room to beg her to check out the photos from his _fucking beach holiday_.

Haida retched, chin crashing into his ribs as his shoulders squirmed, tongue lashing. He relaxed for a moment before he twitched again, a whine spilling under his groan. "Stampeded _is_ the right word." He snorted, instinctively reaching for his bottle before stopping himself, paw bobbing over the table. His cheek spasmed. "Dirty old creep." He pinched the bridge between his eyes, grunting. "Don't know how you ladies put up with him."

"Poor girl." Fenneko pursed her lips and sighed, shaking her head. "Still, if the old fart's perving over one of _his_ boss's daughters, it might finally get him caught out."

Haida looked to the fennec, a grin peeking out again. It was somehow no match for the miniscule twerk of her lips, radiating venom across the table. "So, are you gonna' take back calling me a cradle-snatcher?" he asked, propping his paw casually on his hip.

Fenneko's tail lashed. "Just this once," she said, eyes glued to her phone, smirk darkening as she leaned towards the screen, fingers flexing and stretching like the legs of an upturned woodlouse. Beautiful weapons of war. They danced across the screen, a ballet to drunken lechery. She was probably already months deep into his feed, pouring through every perfectly manicured leg he slicked his like over and every icky thought he'd left lingering in the comments. "It has a worthier target."

Haida chuckled. "The Instagram Cop truly protects and serves."

Fenneko tore herself away from the screen and glanced at them. A giddy, hungry energy fizzed in her eyes, her knuckles light under her fur. The air whipped as she raised one in salute before it instantly returned to duty.

Embers soothed Retsuko's cheeks, warm and gentle. _There_ was that heart.

Another wet laugh spilled out of Haida's lips as he stood up, chair plaintively squeaking across the floor. "I think we could all do with some more drinks!"

Retsuko hummed, grinning easy once more. "Yeah. Let's get the taste out of our mouths!"


End file.
